Well, I dont know if even life is 'true' random. Something to think about...:>
However, there are websites that stream random bits based on things from radioactive decay to lava lamps(btw radioactive decay on average is very predictable, but it actually happens in bursts that are random). It wouldn't be too hard to integrate something like that into a life sim if you feel that they are less pseudo-random than a math function...
"All that has to happen for this to work is for hardware manufacturers to quietly insert these features for one generation of PCs -- and we all know how long that is -- and it's done. Everyone upgrades to get the latest and greatest, and it becomes the new "standard." "
Many people aren't upgrading to the latest and greatest because the current stuff does what they want. Most people go years between buying computers. They may be able to slip this in over the course of a decade or more, but not in just a year or two as you seem to imply.
I can see people downloading freeware 'encryption emulators' that trick software into thinking it is on a secure hd. How it would work would depend on how exactly they implimented such a protection, but I dont doubt such countermeasures would be produced.
"No one will manufacture user-control free media if they RIAA/MPAA/IDSA/BSA get their way."
What is the common feature of all those acronyms? The 'A' at the end, refering to 'America.' These people dont have much power outside the States; if they make force chrud on us that doesn't do what we think it should we won't buy it. They won't get the sales(just like DivX) and we can still buy hardware from outside the States.
I think alot of us computer nerds have at least a few japanese inport games, so how would getting some japanese harddrives be any harder? Yeah, a normal person may not go that far, but they probably wouldn't want to do things that were locked out anyway.
It is just an ego trip. He gets a thrill out of the idea of his 'art' being so wonderfull that there is a small comunity of people pirating his work. He likes having the power to smash them as well.
This guy is on a major ego trip. He is doing the Metallica thing of saying that it is making copies of their 'art' that ticks them off. I noticed while skimming his webpage that at least he doesn't claim that these copies are causing him to lose sales. Ego is all it his.
Think about it. How many of you ever completely read a full novel on a computer? E-books bite; they never have and never will compete with real books. Nobody wants to snuggle up to their moniter to read! It hurts to stare at text on a monitor for for over 30 minutes, so no benge reading here.
My syster is a writer. Is she worried about e-books? Heck no, nobody wants e-books, they want real books.
The people who really have reason to worry about pirate copies are the ones whose works can be copied in digital form and produce the same(or similar) experience as the origional works. Games, software, and music are things that can be copied in reasonable quality, but these industries are still very profitable. Most people still buy real copies of their software, so the idea of someone copying my software illegally is not so scarry to me.
However, I do think that limiting the ease of making copies is inportant. For example, some of my asian friends tell me that in some areas it is actually much harder to get a legitimate movie than a bootlegged one, and even then it is much more expensive. I definitely dont want to see that happen with software over the web, so I can understand this guy trying to protect his copywright.
What I really dissagree with is his methadology; he is simply suing everyone in sight! Suing AOL for having newsgroups is crazy; it is a basic part of being an ISP. If he said told AOL about the situation and AOL refused to filter or drop that particular newsgroup, then I would understand. That doesnt seem to be the case, he seems to have gone straight to the courts, which tells me he is just another sue-happy nut after some easy $.
The best software available is the MS software you haven't upgraded to yet!:P
Hey, MS already has an OS in most computers already. As an evil company, it has to come up with some funky way to make money, right? Maybe they are making dubious 'new' OS because nobody wants to by MS cereal...
Slashdot Mirror
Well, I dont know if even life is 'true' random. Something to think about... :>
However, there are websites that stream random bits based on things from radioactive decay to lava lamps(btw radioactive decay on average is very predictable, but it actually happens in bursts that are random). It wouldn't be too hard to integrate something like that into a life sim if you feel that they are less pseudo-random than a math function...
"All that has to happen for this to work is for hardware manufacturers to quietly insert these features for one generation of PCs -- and we all know how long that is -- and it's done. Everyone upgrades to get the latest and greatest, and it becomes the new "standard." "
Many people aren't upgrading to the latest and greatest because the current stuff does what they want. Most people go years between buying computers. They may be able to slip this in over the course of a decade or more, but not in just a year or two as you seem to imply.
I can see people downloading freeware 'encryption emulators' that trick software into thinking it is on a secure hd. How it would work would depend on how exactly they implimented such a protection, but I dont doubt such countermeasures would be produced.
"No one will manufacture user-control free media if they RIAA/MPAA/IDSA/BSA get their way."
What is the common feature of all those acronyms? The 'A' at the end, refering to 'America.' These people dont have much power outside the States; if they make force chrud on us that doesn't do what we think it should we won't buy it. They won't get the sales(just like DivX) and we can still buy hardware from outside the States.
I think alot of us computer nerds have at least a few japanese inport games, so how would getting some japanese harddrives be any harder? Yeah, a normal person may not go that far, but they probably wouldn't want to do things that were locked out anyway.
Hey, someone has to make money off of all those elvis style weddings in Vegas, right? ;>
It is just an ego trip. He gets a thrill out of the idea of his 'art' being so wonderfull that there is a small comunity of people pirating his work. He likes having the power to smash them as well.
This guy is on a major ego trip. He is doing the Metallica thing of saying that it is making copies of their 'art' that ticks them off. I noticed while skimming his webpage that at least he doesn't claim that these copies are causing him to lose sales. Ego is all it his.
Think about it. How many of you ever completely read a full novel on a computer? E-books bite; they never have and never will compete with real books. Nobody wants to snuggle up to their moniter to read! It hurts to stare at text on a monitor for for over 30 minutes, so no benge reading here.
My syster is a writer. Is she worried about e-books? Heck no, nobody wants e-books, they want real books.
The people who really have reason to worry about pirate copies are the ones whose works can be copied in digital form and produce the same(or similar) experience as the origional works. Games, software, and music are things that can be copied in reasonable quality, but these industries are still very profitable. Most people still buy real copies of their software, so the idea of someone copying my software illegally is not so scarry to me.
However, I do think that limiting the ease of making copies is inportant. For example, some of my asian friends tell me that in some areas it is actually much harder to get a legitimate movie than a bootlegged one, and even then it is much more expensive. I definitely dont want to see that happen with software over the web, so I can understand this guy trying to protect his copywright.
What I really dissagree with is his methadology; he is simply suing everyone in sight! Suing AOL for having newsgroups is crazy; it is a basic part of being an ISP. If he said told AOL about the situation and AOL refused to filter or drop that particular newsgroup, then I would understand. That doesnt seem to be the case, he seems to have gone straight to the courts, which tells me he is just another sue-happy nut after some easy $.
The best software available is the MS software you haven't upgraded to yet! :P
Hey, MS already has an OS in most computers already. As an evil company, it has to come up with some funky way to make money, right? Maybe they are making dubious 'new' OS because nobody wants to by MS cereal...
Try a benchmark of NT4 without any service packs vs Win2k without any service packs. I think that may even things a bit.
:>
OTOH, if NT4 still wins it is time to get scared